The film "Yasmin" by Kenny Glenaan tells the story of a young Pakistani woman from North England and the problems she has to cope with after the terrorist attack of 9/11. Yasmin lives in two different worlds. On the one hand, she has adapted the lifestyle of the western civilisation, and on the other hand, she has to obey certain rules of the Islamic faith to fulfil her father's wishes like the bogus marriage with her cousin Faysal . After 9/11 her colleagues and friends confront her with mistrust and suspicion . Her husband is being arrested and her young brother joins a fundamentalist organisation whereas Yasmin tries to become aware of her own identity and religion. Yasmin is a strong and vivid main character. She is likable and very human,that is why you can identify with her most. Other important characters are Yasmin's father and brother. Her father is a very religious man, sometimes a bit narrow-minded but mostly reasonable. His son Nazir used to be a drug dealer but after the terrorist attacks a fundamental Islamic organisation finds a way to influence him and finally makes him join them. Nazir is fascinated by the fundamental ideology whereas his father is strictly against this kind of organisations. From my point of view one cannot reject any of the characters, they all have reasons for their behaviour. Due to his totally different cultural background and since he cannot understand his new surroundings at all, Faysal is more a tragic character than anyone you would absolutely reject, and Nazir is convinced that he is doing right. I guess that it was Glenaan's intention to show how unfairly many Muslims were treated after the terrorist attack of 9/11 and that their religion does not make people criminals. Probably he wanted to show their difficult situation from another point of view. I see the strength of the movie in the metaphorical storytelling realised through the good camera work and sound, and especially through the convincing performance of the actors. What I dislike is the unclear ending of the movie. One can only guess how Yasmin's life is going to be afterwards what the film showed. Due to the great plot and actors I recommend the film.
Review of Yasmin
